Builder of the Nation Locomotive
Winder, Barrow County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
Builder of the Nation. This steam locomotive was presented to the City of Winder and Barrow County in 1959 by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad Company. It was placed here as a permanent exhibit in memory of the important service engines of this type rendered to the country. Built in 1930, it operated for a number of years on the Gainesville Midland Railroad. At the time of its retirement in 1959, No. 208 was one of the last steam locomotives in service in this section of the country.
Erected by Georgia Historical Commission
The Story
This steam locomotive, No. 208, was built in 1930 and spent its working life on the Gainesville Midland Railroad before the Seaboard Air Line Railroad presented it to Winder and Barrow County in 1959. Retired as one of the last steam engines still running in the region, it was set here as a permanent tribute to the machines that once moved the nation's freight and passengers.
Why it matters
The engine marks the twilight of the steam era, when diesel power ended a century in which the railroad had knit rural America together.
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Themes & tags
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